My real home
by Liz Jean Tonks
Summary: Walburga and Orion Black aren't too happy when Dumbledore tells them their son broke the rules and put a fellow student in danger. Sirius has to face the consequences. But one thing is certain: he will always fight for his friends, no matter the consequences.


**School**: Beauxbatons

**Prompts**: Main: [Pairing (platonic)] Sirius Black/ Remus Lupin

Other: [Object] spellbook

**Theme**: Parents Day

**Year**: 1

**Wordcount**: 2966

Thanks to my wonderful friend and beta-reader, Mason!

* * *

"You must understand that I am very disappointed in you."

Sirius forced himself to look into the headmaster's eyes instead of fixing them on the ground. He had never felt more ashamed.

"I'm sorry," he said in a low voice. "I didn't want anyone to get hurt. I didn't think about what could happen."

"You should be very thankful for having friends like Mr. Potter. If Mr. Snape had been severely injured, I would have had no other choice but to expel you tonight."

Sirius swallowed. At least the worst hadn't happened.

"Your actions will, of course, have consequences. For one, you will serve a number of detentions. Professor McGonagall will be informed, and it is her decision to decide when and where these detentions take place. Furthermore, I will inform your parents of the incident."

Sirius' eyes widened at the last sentence. Detentions, he could take. But his parents would be livid if they found out what he had done. "Please don't," he said quickly. "I swear, it won't happen again, just please don't write to them, sir."

Dumbledore frowned. "Your parents need to know what happened," he said. "I'm sorry, but it is my duty to inform them."

Sirius nervously bit his lip. If his parents knew that he was still spending time with Remus, a half-blood, they would be angry. They had told him before that he couldn't be seen with Remus or Peter. He hadn't listened to them, of course, and was careful not to mention to them who his friends were, but if Dumbledore told them about tonight...

Then, something came to his mind. "But, sir, you can't tell them everything," he said quickly. "I mean, no one can know about Remus being a werewolf, it's top secret, right?"

Dumbledore's expression grew, if possible, even more serious and in a cold voice, he replied, "Mr. Black, I don't believe it's your place to tell me what I can and can't tell your parents, especially after what you told Mr. Snape tonight."

Sirius stared down on his hands. He wanted to say something, but he didn't know what. He didn't want to know what his parents would do if they found out about Remus being a werewolf. Half-bloods were one thing, but half-breeds? They were never going to accept this.

"You should go to bed now," Dumbledore said, his voice a little bit friendlier. "I will be writing to your parents tomorrow and ask them to come to the school this Saturday afternoon. And I want you to be there too."

Sirius was once more in shock. "To come here?" he repeated. "I – couldn't you just write to them, sir?"

"No," Dumbledore said in a determined tone. "This is something I would like to talk about in person."

"But my parents are – you can't – "

"I'm not discussing this with you," Dumbledore said sharply. "Please, go back to your dormitory. You are dismissed."

Without another word, the boy turned to the door, his eyes still wide in shock and fear.

"Good night," he heard Dumbledore say.

"Good night, sir."

* * *

The spellbook was lying in front of Sirius, but he couldn't concentrate on his homework. All he could think about was his parents coming this weekend.

He heard steps and saw Remus approaching. His friend sat down next to him and took out a quill and a piece of parchment.

"Hi," he said.

"Hi, Moony," Sirius said in a low voice.

Remus looked at the book. "Padfoot doing his homework on a Friday afternoon? What's gotten into you?" His eyes wandered to the parchment, which was completely empty. Remus rose an eyebrow. "Or at least, it looks like you were doing your homework."

Sirius sighed. "I've been sitting here for an hour. I just can't concentrate."

"Because of the meeting with your parents?"

"Exactly." Sirius took a deep breath. "And by the way, Remus – I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have told Snape how to follow you. I totally betrayed you. I'm so sorry."

To his surprise, Remus smiled. "It's okay," he said. "Snape won't tell anyone, so no harm done. And I'm sure you won't be doing it again."

"Definitely not!" Sirius said. "But it wasn't okay at all. No friend would do something like that."

"I guess you screwed up," Remus said. "But no one's flawless, and you apologized. That settles it for me."

"Thanks, Remus."

Remus just smiled. "Can I help you with that?" he asked, pointing at the book.

Sirius shook his head. "No, it's okay," he said. "Professor Flitwick already suspects that you help us with our homework, and I need to keep a clean record now, so I'd better do it myself." He looked at the clock. "I should hurry, though," he said with a sigh. "I'm seeing Professor McGonagall later for my detention."

"So I guess you won't be joining us tonight?" Remus asked. "We wanted to see if we find any more secret passageways. Prongs swears there has to be another way to get to Hogsmeade, apart from the one that leads to Honeydukes."

Sirius smiled sadly. It would have been so much fun to spend the night with his friends. "Tell me if you find anything out," he said.

"Of course." Remus nodded and turned back to his homework.

Sirius turned a page in the book of spells without even reading it. Instead, he watched Remus scribbling down his essay for potions. After the meeting with his parents, would he still be allowed to spend time with Remus and the others at all? Of course, they could hardly control him whilst he was at Hogwarts, but he knew that that wouldn't stop them from trying. He was scared.

* * *

Sirius was waiting in front of Dumbledore's office. The headmaster had told him to stay outside while he spoke to his parents about what happened. Sirius was pacing up and down. It had probably been no more than fifteen minutes before the door opened again, but it felt like hours to Sirius. Shaking, he entered the room. He didn't dare to look at his parents, so he fixed his eyes on the only empty chair that stood in front of Dumbledore's desk. Apart from his parents and Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall was present as well.

"Sit down," he heard Dumbledore's voice say.

Once he was seated, his mother raised her voice. "We would like to speak to our son privately," she said in a voice so sharp it made Sirius flinch.

Dumbledore looked from one to the other. "Of course," he said and got up from his chair. Professor McGonagall followed him.  
"We will be back when you're finished," Dumbledore said gently.

Walburga Black nodded. "Thank you," she said in a calm voice. Her mouth was very thin and Sirius feared what she was going to say to him.

She waited until the door was closed again before she turned to her son.

Sirius was looking down on his hands, bracing himself.

"Look at me," she said in a harsh voice, and Sirius looked up. It was the first time he'd looked into his mother's eyes in a long time. They were as cold and merciless as he remembered them. And she didn't hesitate to start with her lecture. "What were you thinking?" she roared. "Walking around at night with werewolves and half-bloods, breaking the school's rules! Do you have any idea what kind of damage this does to our family's reputation?"

Sirius remained silent. If she had shouted at him just for breaking the rules, he might have apologized. But he wasn't going to pretend he cared about their family's reputation. He had stopped seeing himself as a part of that family for years.

"We told you to stay away from Pettigrew and that Lupin boy," his father said. "And now we get called to the school because you got in trouble with them. What has gotten into your head to mix with people like that? Isn't being sorted into Gryffindor instead of Slytherin shameful enough?"

"They're my friends," Sirius said defiantly. "You can't determine who I'm friends with."

"Oh, I think we can," his mother said in a dangerous voice. "Especially after what happened on Thursday night. What you did is beyond anything I expect of a member of our family. And it will not happen again, do you hear me?"

Sirius just shrugged. He had no intentions to stop hanging out with his friends just because his mother said so.

"Sirius!" she shouted. "Did you hear what I was saying?"

"Yes," Sirius said through gritted teeth. "But that doesn't mean I like it."

"Don't talk like that to your mother!" his father said firmly.

Sirius crossed his arms in front of his chest. His mother glared at him. "Be careful, young man," she said. "The headmaster may have decided not to suspend you, but that does not mean we can't decide to take to you home if you can't behave yourself here."

The last sentence made Sirius pale. He stared at his mother and opened his mouth, but no sound came.

"I see you're less confident now," his mother hissed. "Here are the rules for you: If you keep hanging out with Lupin or Pettigrew, your father and I will be home-schooling you. And you can be sure we will make sure you regret having disgraced us. Clear?"

Sirius swallowed. "You can't," he said, his voice trembling now.

"Yes, we can," Walburga said. "We're your parents. And as for this weekend, you will be spending it at our manor. Just to give you a little insight into what your life will be like if you break the rules again. Maybe that'll stop you from calling half-bloods and half-breeds your friends."

Sirius just stared at them. He couldn't believe it. He had always known his mother was a cruel woman, but how could anyone be _this_ cruel?

For his parents, the matter seemed to be settled.

"You go and pack," his mother said. "Meanwhile, we will explain our decision to the headmaster. It can only be in his interest that you don't endanger any other students."

Sirius slowly got up from his chair. This couldn't be true.

"Take your school books with you," his father added.

They didn't give him the chance to say goodbye to his friends, and Sirius knew they were doing it on purpose. They were down at the Quidditch pitch, and Sirius tried to sneak down there before his parents finished talking to Dumbledore, but they saw him.

"This way, son," his father said, placing in his hand on his shoulder.

Sirius bit his lip and grabbed his bag. "Hold on," he said quickly. "I think I forgot my book for Charms class. Yes. I'll be right back."

Before his mother or father could say anything, he turned around and ran up the steps to the staircase. But he didn't go to his common room. There was a passageway that led straight downstairs, and he should be able to get to the Quidditch pitch without being seen by anyone. He drew his wand and tapped at the wall. It cleared the way for him, and a staircase revealed itself. He jumped down the steps as quickly as he could. Panting, he reached his friends, who turned around in surprise.

"Good catch, Prongs," Peter said. "Hey, Padfoot, how did it go with your parents?"

"Bad," Sirius said, catching for breath. "As in, really bad. They want me to come home for the weekend."

"What?" James asked, pocketing his snitch. "What for?"

"I don't know, but it won't be a cheerful visit," Sirius said apprehensively. "I shouldn't be here at all, they're already waiting for me. I just wanted to say goodbye."

James patted his shoulder. "See you. Maybe you should take a couple of dungbombs with you, we still have loads."

Sirius smiled weakly. "Better not," he said. "They're so mad, if I played a prank this weekend, they'd probably kill me. If I don't come back, you know what happened... Anyway, I should go. See you, guys."

"See you," Peter and Remus muttered.

"Remus, could you just come with me?" Sirius asked, already turning around to go back to the castle. Remus followed him, a little confused.

"Listen," Sirius said. "They know about you now. I'm sure Dumbledore will make sure they don't say a word, but I just thought you should know."

If his friend was appalled by this news, he didn't show it. "Thanks for letting me know," he said. "How did they take it?"

"Pretty bad," Sirius sighed. "That's also why they're taking me home. They don't want us to spend time with each other."

Remus contorted his face. "Your parents really take this pureblood thing serious, don't they?"

"That's an understatement. Their whole life is based on purity of blood. They say if I keep hanging out with you guys, they'll home-school me."

Remus stared at him. "They can't be serious!"

"It looks like they are," Sirius said gloomily. "But like I'd ever do that. You're my best friends!"

"Maybe they'll cool down after the weekend," Remus suggested. "They're probably just upset."

But Sirius shook his head. "I'm pretty sure they won't change their mind," he said. "But we'll see."

They had reached the end of the passageway. Sirius sighed. "I really don't want to go with them."

"I'm sorry, Sirius."

Sirius smiled weakly. "I know it's just two days," he said. "But every day I spend at my home is one day too much. You can't imagine how I feel as soon as I step through the door."

Remus hugged his friend. "You'll be fine, Padfoot. We'll see you on Monday."

Sirius took a deep breath and turned around. "Honestly, Remus," he said before he drew out his wand to open the wall again,. "I swear, if I make it through this weekend, I will never again tease Snivellus."

Remus laughed. "Of course."

"I'm serious!" Sirius said, but now he had to grin himself.

"Yeah, right," Remus said. "At least for a week or so."

Sirius grinned. "Exactly."

* * *

His parents awaited him impatiently.

"What took you so long?" his father roared.

"Sorry," Sirius said, panting, "I was looking for the book everywhere."

His mothers' eyes narrowed. "And where is it?"

"That's the thing," Sirius said quickly. "I didn't find it. I must have lost it, or something..."

His father frowned and took out his wand without another word. "Accio Charms spellbook."

The book rose out of Sirius' bag, who nervously bit his lip. The book flew right into Orion's hand.

"Well," his father said, examining the book. "Good we found it now, don't you think?" His voice was cold as ice.

"Oh," Sirius said. "Well, I knew it had to be somewhere – "

His mother raised her hand and silenced him. "Let's go," she said, her voice just as cold.

No one spoke a word until they got home. They had used the floo network – Dumbledore had been happy to provide his fireplace – and now they were all standing in the grand living room. Sirius was about to turn around and go to his room without another word, but his parents stopped him.

"You stay here," his father snarled. "And we talk."

Sirius frowned and grabbed his bag. "Why?" he asked impatiently. "We already talked, in Dumbledore's office, remember? You spoke to me, and I listened. That's what they call talking."

His father took a sharp breath.

"Sit down," his mother said in a harsh voice.

Sirius didn't move. He wouldn't let them command him around; he wasn't a little kid anymore. His father grabbed his shoulders and pushed him down on the armchair.

"Stop with this impudent backtalk," Walburga said. "Or there'll be consequences, you understand?"Sirius crossed his legs and leaned back. "Can't wait to see them," he said calmly. "Are you going to shout at me again? That's not a consequence, that's just what you're doing all day."

He looked into their eyes, waiting for their reaction, and it came almost at once. His mother rose her hand and smacked his face, with a force Sirius wouldn't have expected from her. He was about to give a yelp, but he managed to held it back. Nevertheless, his skin was burning and his eyes got a little teary; he couldn't help it.

His mother glared at him. "Any more questions?" she snarled.

Sirius didn't say anything.

"Good," Walburga said. "Now listen to me. You will stay here until tomorrow night, and you will be studying with your father. Back at school you will stay out of trouble and not disgrace our family name ever again. That includes associating with half-bloods or non-humans."

"Remus isn't – "

"Sirius!" his father warned.

"Otherwise," his mother went on. "We will find other solutions, and you won't like them at all. So you'd better keep to our rules." She looked to the right, where there hung a family picture on the wall. The Blacks took a family picture each year and hung it on the wall. Sirius hated it, but when it came to these photographs, his parents didn't take No for an answer. "You're still a part of this family," she said. "And as long as you live under our roof, you'll obey to our rules."

Sirius glared at her, but he knew himself that this was the only chance he had. He didn't have anywhere else to go to; the rest of the family was just as horrible, apart from his cousin Andromeda, perhaps. All he had was this house and these people that were his parents.

How much he hated it. And he swore to himself to get out of here as soon as it was possible.


End file.
